Personal Medical

Identifying the required vaccinations and immunizations was simple with the assistance of the travel clinic at George Washington University Hospital. For anyone that who lives in the D.C. metro area and plans to travel internationally, I highly recommend the travel clinic. Luckily, most of them are valid for at least 5-10 years, and I’ve had many of them from prior trips.
- Hepatitis A and B (2 or 3 vaccines)
- Tetanus
- Meningitis
- Diphtheria (DTP)
- Measles, Mumps and Rubella booster
- Didn’t need Yellow Fever or Cholera because not visiting Africa
- It’s best to log shots in your yellow vaccination certificate booklet

Estimating the appropriate malaria medicine took a little bit more of an effort. In certain parts of the world mosquitoes are resistant to chloroquine, the most popular malaria medicine. Referencing the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) website was critical in determining which areas of the world were chloroquine resistant.

Chloroquine has a long history of treating and preventing malaria. It only has to be administered weekly and it’s relatively cheap. Alternative malaria medications recommended by CDC in chloroquine resistant areas are Malarone, Mefloquine and Doxycycline. A downside to theses medications is that they have to be administered daily. When deciding which medication was best for me, I ruled Mefloquine (aka Larium) out as an alternative medication. Having taken Mefloquine during a previous trip to Africa, it gave me wicked dreams, a known side effect of the drug. The travel clinic suggested, and I concurred with, Malarone as an alternative. If side effects develop while on Malarone during the trip, I’ve also kept my options open by taking along a supply of Doxycycline. My previous employer had a prescription reimbursement plan. The costs to me were minimal.